Amazon.com
Amazon.com is the world's largest online retailer and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA. It was founded on by Jeff Bezos, an avid fan of the Star Trek who had a brief cameo in . Initially starting out as a book seller, the retailer's assortment quickly expanded to include almost all other conceivable consumer merchandise as well, including those stemming from the Star Trek franchise, in the process becoming an important distribution partner for the franchise, if not the most important one where its merchandise – in both physical and digital manifestations in regard to the print, and home media entertainment formats – is concerned. While originally founded as an online retailer, Amazon has, after a tentative start, rapidly evolved into a multi-media conglomerate whose many holdings include, among others, Amazon Studios, Amazon Prime and the online publisher CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, which has released several original Star Trek related book titles. While still primarily an online retail company, Amazon.com, Inc. is presently also the conglomerate holding company. Exclusive home video releases Because of its importance to the franchise, especially for its worldwide coverage, Amazon.com is increasingly given – or has enforced – the right to release so-called "retailer exclusive" home media entertainment formats, thereby joining the traditional chain store retailer , having already been previously allowed to release such exclusives, but which has only North-American coverage. No details on the financial arrangements between franchise and any of the respective retailers have ever been disclosed, but it is safe to assume that the "retailer exclusive" format entails a larger margin cut for the retailer involved over the regular releases – and thus a smaller one for the franchise and/or manufacturer. Star Trek: The Original Series Variant packagings of the DVD release were retailed as limited exclusives through the German Amazon.de and the French Amazon.fr and in November 2005. The German set came with a Starfleet arrowhead insignia shaped display shelf, whereas the French one came in a black hard plastic Starfleet-style "records bin". Four years later, in July 2009, the Japanese Amazon.co.jp released the same set as a limited "Galaxy Box" edition and came packaged with a full scale tricorder toy. The German and French editions rank to date among the earliest known Amazon Star Trek exclusives, along with the below-mentioned Japanese ones. File:TOS 1-3 R2 (Germany).jpg|The German Amazon exclusive File:TOS 1-3 R2 (France).jpg|The French Amazon exclusive File:TOS 1-3 R2 (Japan).jpg|The Japanese Amazon exclusive Prime universe films In December 2005 the Japanese Amazon.co.jp retailed a limited exclusive of the , which consisted of a box featuring a die-cast model of the on top of it. It was reissued in July of the following year in a smaller production run, but now featuring a smaller scaled pewter model of the refit-USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). Released in November 2013, the Star Trek I-X - Limited Collector's Edition, collecting the first ten remastered versions of the , was exclusively retailed through the British Amazon.co.uk and the German Amazon.de, with its total numbered production run limited to 5,000 copies. Essentially a "deluxe" version of the earlier that year released regular Blu-ray version, the release had as extras included, a 112-page full-color photo book containing original studio production manuals and behind the scenes stills, film cells, three storyboards, a fabric Federation badge and a blueprint of the . The Japanese Amazon released in the same year a Stardate Collection exclusive as the to 500 copies limited "Premium Edition", likewise containing extra contents exclusive to that release, which consisted of a film cell from each of the first 10 films and a Star Trek-themed USB flash drive with storyboards and posters. File:Original Crew Movie Collection Special Edition cover R2.jpg|The Japanese Amazon 2005 and 2006 Original Crew Movie Collection releases File:Star Trek I-X Limited Collector's Edition Blu-ray contents.jpg|The European Amazon Limited Collector's Edition Blu-ray movie release File:Stardate Collection Blu-ray Japan Premium Edition contents.jpg|The Japanese Amazon Star Trek: Stardate Collection "Premium Edition" Star Trek Amazon.com exclusively retailed a Blu-ray version of that contained a QMx model of the in 2009. The metal model was limited to an edition of 5,000 pieces. The German Amazon.de exclusively retailed a November 2009 2-disc DVD release of Star Trek that contained a model of the Enterprise, which, when assembled, served as a disc holder. This edition was geo-restricted to German and Dutch (through the now defunct retail chain store) speaking European countries only – though the same product was, in a variant packaging, also available as "retailer exclusives" in Canada through Best Buy and in the USA through (as were their Blu-ray counterparts for that matter). File:Star Trek Amazon Blu-ray set.jpg|Amazon.com exclusive Star Trek Blu-ray set File:Star Trek USS Enterprise DVD (region2 ).jpg|Amazon.de DVD exclusive Star Trek Into Darkness In 2013, Amazon.com, the German Amazon.de and the French Amazon.fr exclusively carried a 3D Blu-ray Disc edition of that contained a QMx phaser replica. The German release differed from the two others in that it had its discs packaged in a "steelbook" casing, a format popular in Germany (see: below). Star Trek Beyond A number of Amazon-exclusive editions of the home video release of Star Trek Beyond included a QMx "Mini Masters" seven-inch replica of the or a three-pack of Snapco miniature starships. These sets were released in November 2016. File:Amazon Star Trek Beyond home video QMx USS Franklin promos.jpg|Early promos for Amazon.com Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD releases of Star Trek Beyond with QMx USS Franklin File:Amazon QMx ST Beyond Blu-Ray USS Franklin Set.jpg|Amazon.com Blu-ray release promo of Star Trek Beyond with QMx USS Franklin File:Amazon UK QMx ST Beyond Blu-Ray USS Franklin Set.jpg|Amazon.co.uk Blu-ray release promo of Star Trek Beyond with QMx USS Franklin File:Amazon 4KUHD BR3D BR USS Franklin Giftset.jpg|Amazon.com [[Star Trek Beyond (4K Ultra HD)|4K UHD + Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital HD Star Trek Beyond]] promo with QMx USS Franklin File:Amazon QMx Mini Masters USS Franklin.jpg|QMx Mini Masters USS Franklin File:Snapco Star Trek Beyond Blu-ray Starship set.jpg|Early promo for Amazon.de (Germany) Star Trek Beyond Ultimate Blu-ray Gift Set with Snapco starship 3-pack File:Walmart Amazon USS Enterprise miniature.jpg|Ultimate Blu-ray Gift Set [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701 alternate reality)|USS Enterprise]] File:Walmart Amazon USS Franklin miniature.jpg|Ultimate Blu-ray Gift Set USS Franklin File:Walmart Amazon Swarm Ship miniature.jpg|Ultimate Blu-ray Gift Set swarm ship Limited "Steelbook" Editions A "steelbook" edition, on occasion also referred to as "tin can" or "metalpack", concerns an optical disc release packaged in a metalic foldout (hence the "book" in steelbook) casing, typically in a limited, one-time only production run at a higher price-point, as opposed to the regular plastic snapcases, though contents are usually the same for both variants. While not as elaborate as the above featured exclusives, a segment of the collector scene values these for its perceived cachet, and is a format utilized in many countries, Germany in particular, where the format is especially popular. Amazon is but one of the many retailers which regularly employs the format as an exclusive. The 2018 Season One "Limited Steelbook Edition" was not limited to Amazon.com alone, as this particular release was carried by Best Buy as well, whereas it was in Europe also carried by UK retailer Zavvi and French retailer FNAC. File:TNG Blu-ray German pin collection ad.jpg|German StarTrek.de ad for the 2012-2015 Amazon.de "Limited Steelbook Collector's Edition" File:Amazon.co.uk Star Trek Into Darkness Limited Steelbook Edition.jpg|UK Amazon.co.uk 2013 2-disc Limited Steelbook Edition File:Star Trek 1 disc Blu-ray Region B German Steelbook cover.jpg|German Amazon.de 2013 single-disc Star Trek Limited Steelbook Edition, variant 1 File:Star Trek 1 disc Blu-ray Region B German Steelbook cover, variant 2.jpg|German Amazon.de 2013 single-disc Star Trek Limited Steelbook Edition, variant 2 File:The Roddenberry Vault German Steelbook cover.jpg|German Amazon.de 2016 Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault Limited Steelbook Edition File:DIS Season 1 Blu ray steelbook cover.jpg|US/Japanese/German/Italian Amazon 2018 Star Trek Discovery - Season One Blu Ray Limited Steelbook Edition External links * – official web site * fr:Amazon.com Category:Collectible companies